Patty Pan Squash Improbable But Not Impossible

I present to you the patty pan squash:  .  They come in many colors and are quite cute.  I see these all the time at Farmers Markets, but never buy them; they seem so….awkward.   It occurred to me that this might be a bit narrow minded, so I bought some. 

Here are some things you should know about Patty Pan Squash:

*They are a summer squash with a tender skin like zucchini, and can be pretty much used interchangeably in any recipe.

*Size matters.  You don’t want them much wider than the palm of your hand, and you want them to be pretty much the same size when you buy them.  Just like any squash – bigger is older and less tender.

*They explode in the microwave if you don’t pierce them enough.

I imagine these would be awesome halved and grilled.  As a matter of fact, I’m thinking that grilled mushrooms, grilled peppers and zucchini, and some french bread with herb and olive oil bread dip with a nice bottle of wine would make an outstanding dinner on a hot summer night.

The issue with these cuties, is really their shape.  You buy them because of how they look – so what’s the point of slicing or dicing? 

I decided what I would do is stuff some for lunch (not having the ingredients for the above meal on my meal plan).  The recipe is NOT perfected, but here’s what I did.

Pierce squash and microwave 6 minutes (note to self – more piercing and less microwaving will probably result in a lack of explosion).

Cut off the top 1/3 of the squash, scoop out the seeds, and chop the tops.

Chop 4 slices of bacon and 2 thick slices of onion, fry them; drain excess grease.

Chop up a hotdog bun because I am completely out of bread (and am confused because we have no hot dogs).

Add bread to pan.  Remember chopped squash tops.

Season with salt and pepper.

Scoop into still surprisingly hot squash cups.

Decided that they would be perfect with just a little crunch to them, and popped in toaster oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

ATE.  Saved a few for my husband – who opined that there should have been more.

I added the recipe, even though it’s a work in progress; if you come up with something tasty add it to your recipe box and let me know!